sábado, febrero 09, 2013

Recent U.S. security involvement in Latin America and the Caribbean

Recently there have been several reports and articles about
the increasing militarization of the drug war, particularly in Central
America. U.S. government investment and involvement in security
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean has also been given much
attention in the media. Below is a compilation of articles describing
recent U.S. security-related activity in the region.

U.S. security spending and investment in the region

TheAssociated Pressput
out a great article Monday, "U.S. military expands its drug war in
Latin America," reporting that "as the drug war in Latin America
continues to gain momentum, the United States continues to do everything
possible to try and combat it." The article provides a good overview of
"the most expensive initiative in Latin America since the Cold War."
Some key findings from the article include:

The U.S. authorized sale of "$2.8 billion worth of guns, satellites, radar
equipment and tear gas to Western Hemisphere nations in 2011”

Over the past decade, defense contracts jumped from $119 million to $629
million.

In 2012, “almost $9 out of every $10 of U.S. law enforcement and military aid
spent in the region went toward countering narcotics."

At all times, 4,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Latin America.

A short article in Wired magazine,"Here’s What Your $97 Million Drug War in Central America Actually Bought"examines
the nearly $100 million over four years that the U.S. has spent on
advanced gear and training for Central American forces. The article
concludes, "So, for $97 million, the U.S. has gotten drug smugglers to
shift their routes and lined the pockets of a human rights abuser. Don’t
you feel safer?"

A report by John Lindsay-Poland of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (repostedon
Just the Facts) examined Pentagon contracts in Latin America for 2012.
Lindsay-Poland found that the Defense Department issued $444 million in
non-fuel contracts and made $130 million in fuel purchased to companies
in Latin America. He found "Only nine percent of the $574.4 million in
Pentagon contracts signed in 2012 (including fuel contracts) were with
firms in the country where the work was to be carried out. In the
Caribbean, there were virtually no local companies that benefited from
the $245 million in Defense Department contracts."

TheNorth American Congress on Latin Americapublished
an interesting article today, titled "The Drug Trade and the Increasing
Militarization of the Caribbean." The piece looks at U.S. military
involvement in the Caribbean, including its increasing use of drones and
the Department of Homeland Security's "border security training" for
the region's armies.

Puerto Rico

This week Puerto Rico's Resident commissioner Pedro Pierluisiannouncedthat
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to invest millions
of dollars to combat drugs and arms trafficking on the island.
According toEFEandInsightCrime,
DHS plans to "send reinforcements to boost stretched law enforcement
agencies, namely the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, US
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Coast Guard." According toEl Nuevo Dia newspaper,
advisors to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said
the department is close to announcing new "concrete and substantial
steps" to combat drug trafficking in the territory. Puerto Rico has seen
an increase in smuggling and crime as it is more and more becoming an
important transit country for cocaine smugglers.

This week it was alsoannouncedthat
Carlos Cases will be the FBI's new director for Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. Cases was previously the director of criminal
investigations for Latin America and the Southwest border for the
organization.

Mexico

On Tuesday, theNew York Timespublished
an in-depth piece on the United States' influence on Mexican security,
reporting that it played a key role in Mexican President Peña Nieto's
defense minister selection. According to the article, the Obama
administration prevented a general it believed was skimming money off
defense contracts and had ties to drug traffickers from becoming the
country's defense minister. The Mexican governmentdenied the allegation,
while State Department spokesman William Ostick said, "Decisions on the
selection of Mexican officials belong only to the government of
Mexico."

According to theBBC,
a post-mortem report showed that a Mexican teenager was shot dead last
year by U.S. Border Patrol agents. The agents apparently opened fired
when suspected drug smugglers began throwing rocks at them.

In early January, the director of the Trans-border Institute at the University of San DiegobriefedU.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) on Mexican security for 2013 at the command's base in Colorado. The briefing,"The Drug War in Mexico: U.S.- Mexico Security Challenges in 2013 and Beyond,"looked at the changing security context given Mexico's new government and reviewed the findings of areportreleased this week by the Justice in Mexico Project on drug violence in Mexico. The reportfoundthat killings related to the drug war in the country were waning.
It was reported earlier this year that the recently-created
Special Operations Command North would be training elite military units
in Mexico to track drug cartels much like U.S. teams have tracked Al
Qaeda.Fox Newshas
a good article on concerns that "that U.S. training could fuel human
rights abuses -- and even be exploited by the cartels themselves."

Honduras

Last week House Democratscalled onthe State and Justice Departments to investigate the DEA's role in the murder of four civilians in Honduras last May.

U.S.Navy SEALsspent
6 months setting up a 45-man Special Forces anti- trafficking unit
within the Honduran Navy. The new unit is called the Honduran Fuerza
Especiales Naval or FEN.

The United States Southern Command

Last week, theAmerican Forces Press Servicespublished
an interview with Army Brig. Gen. Sean P. Mulholland, commander of U.S.
Special Operations Command South (SOUTHSOC). Mulholland noted that he
is pushing for increased U.S. military engagement in Latin America and
the Caribbean and that “On any given day, I have over 300 people
deployed downrange to Central and South America, including members of
every service’s special operations force and their civil affairs and
military information support teams.”

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Commander Gen. John F. KellyvisitedTrinidad
and Tobago, Jamaica and Haiti to address continued military cooperation
and common security issues. The general’s discussions with each
nations’ leaders focused on cooperation in combating transnational
threats like organized crime and drug trafficking, support responses to
natural disasters, and training engagements.
In a statement following meetings inTrinidad and Tobago,
Kelly said, “Security challenges have also changed and today we need to
confront or counter threats ranging from stateless actors engaged in
illicit trafficking of drugs, arms, money and people, to natural
disasters.” In Jamaica, following his meeting with senior defense and
government leaders, Kelly met with the U.S. Ambassador to the country,
Pamela Bridgewater to "discuss U.S. military support to the Caribbean
Basin Security Initiative and U.S.-Jamaica bilateral relations." In
Haiti, Kelly met with U.S. Ambassador Pamela White and discussed U.S.
government assistance efforts in Haiti and security cooperation focus
areas with the UN's MINUSTAH mission and the Haitian National Police.

U.S. Army Southhostedthe
Central American Regional Leaders' Conference at its headquarters in
Texas from Jan. 28th - Feb. 1st. Senior military and security force
leaders from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador,
along with Panama's border guard, gathered to give presentations on the
security situation in
each country and "build upon the relationships" the region
shares with the U.S. The leaders were also given a presentation on the
Texas Military Forces and U.S. Border Patrol's joint counternarcotic
operations.

Infosur Hoypublished
an article describing how Colombian government agencies are targeting
cybersecurity in the country. The article highlights the U.S. military's
cooperation with Colombia through SOUTHCOM's Joint Cyber Center.Analyst
James Bosworth provides alarger analysisof the piece, looking at how cybersecurity is handled in the United States.

A few reports on U.S. policy and spending in the region were put out this week, including:

The Congressional Research Service released areporton US-Honduran Relations.
as well asoneon Argentina's debt.

The Government Accountability Office released areporton U.S. aid to Central America

Cynthia J. Arnson of the Wilson Center put out apolicy brief, "Setting Priorities for U.S. Policy in Latin America"

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